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"BRARV OF CONGRESS 



Hollinger Corp. 
pH 8.5 



SB 221 ^ J 

.P17 

Copy 1 



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[Beprint from Beport on Progress of Beet-Sugar Industry in 1902.] 

SINGLE-GERM BEET BALLS AND OTHER SUGGESTIONS FOR 
IMPROVING SUGAR-BEET CULTURE." 

By Truman G. Palmer. 

The suggestions made in the accompanying pages for improving 
some of the methods connected with sugar-beet culture in this coun- 
try are based on personal observations extending over a number of 
years. In February last I had the honor to suggest to the officials of 
the Department of Agriculture the idea of producing single-germ 
beet balls as one means of materiall}^ reducing the necessary quantity 
of seed, eliminating the labor of thinning and bunching beets, and 
thereby lowering the cost of producing sugar from beet .roots. 

While the matter here presented is only suggestive, it is hoped that 
it may be of value to experimenters and others who are engaged in 
building up and encouraging an important industry. 

TONNAGE AND PRICES OF SUGAR BEETS. 

Before treating the subject of increasing the tonnage of sugar beets 
specifically^ an observation as to what is possible of accomplishment 
from the farmer's standpoint may not be inopportune, although in 
doing so ground must necessarily be covered which is well known to 
those who are familiar with the industry. 

By experience it has been found that large beets are liable to be 
low in sugar content, while small beets do not yield sufficient tonnage. 
A 2-pound beet gives the best average results. Planting in rows 18 
inches apart and thinning to S inches gives •i3,2tl:3 beets to the acre; 
and if each beet grew to weigh 2 pounds, the yield would be 4:di tons 
per acre. This, then, is the maximum yield of ideal-sized beets for 
factory purposes. 

The average yield in Germany is 12 to 13 tons, in Austria 8.5 to 10 
tons, in France 10.75 to 12 tons, in Russia 4.7 to 6.6 tons, while in the 
United States in 1901 it was 9.6 tons, and in 1902, it was 8.-1 tons, 
both of which figures are undoubtedly below the normal average, 
as l)oth seasons were unfavorable to beet culture in most sections. 
Fifteen to 18 tons per acre is not an uncommon yield in some localities 
in this country. 



«The report from which this is taken is printed in a Umited edition, and no copies 
will be available for general distribution. 



The price of beets in the United States runs from $3.50 per ton for 
a 12 per cent beet up to considerably more than $5 for the high-grade 
beets of some sections. 

In portions of Nebraska, for instance, where the beets are rather 
low in both sugar and purity, the price is necessaril}^ below the aver- 
age, or the factories would be unable to slice them at a profit. 

Nature however, recompenses the Nebraska grower, for he is not 
put to the expense of irrigating as is the case farther west; nor is he 
compelled to cultivate as extensivel}^ as are the beet raisers in some of 
the more humid States. The factories also recompense the growers 
by giving them the pulp, which is worth $1.50 per ton for feeding 
purposes. 

Owing to the high sugar content and purity, the price of beets in 
the mountain States and in portions of some other States, is often in 
excess of $5 per ton; but fair conclusions can only be arrived at by 
using the average tonnage and the average price per ton as a basis. 

In 1901, the average price throughout the United States was $4.50 
per ton. In 1902, the farmers produced a better grade of beets, 
some of the factories increased the price per ton, and the average was 
brought up to about $5. 

With the low average yield of 9.6 tons at $5 per ton our farmers 
receive $48 per acre, gross, or a net profit of $18 per acre if we 
accept $30 per acre as the average cost of production." As com- 
pared to the gross average returns from the culture of our leading 
cereals, the following figures* are suggestive: 





Average 

yield 
per acre. 


Average 
price per 
bushel. 


Gross 

returns 

per acre. 


Com.. 


Bushels. 
16.7 
15 
25. 6 

25.8 


SiO.605 
.624 
.452 
.399 


SIO.IO 


Wheat 


9.36 




11.. 57 


Oats ." 


10.29 







If the necessary labor can be greatly reduced and the tonnage 
doul)led or trebled, the agricultural returns in producing at home the 
raw sugar, for which in 1901 the United States proper sent abroad 
more than $122,000,000 and for which our people paid the refineries 
over $159,000,000, will be almost be3^ond estimation. 

In America our inventi\e genius has largel}^ eliminated hand work 
in both field and factory, and the most serious obstacle to sugar-beet 
culture is the hand work of thinning the beets after they are planted 
and of topping them when they are plowed out. 

n U. S. Department of Agriculture; Report on the Progress of the Beet-Sugar 
Industry, 1901, p. 11. 

IjV. S. Department of Agriculture; Yearbook, 1901, pp. 698-705. 



PULLING AND TOPPING MACHINES. 

The work of perfecting a successful pulling and topping machine to 
do away with hand work and at the same time save $5 to $8 ])er acre 
in labor has reached the point where several inventors claim to be 
absolutel}" successful. In an}^ event, they have so closel}^ approxi- 
mated it that perfect success can be confidently expected within a 
very few years. This will leave onl}' the thinning to be done by hand, 
and it is to the elimination of this remaining hand work that I desire 
to direct particular attention. 

While a perfect-working pulling and topping machine will save 
much hand labor and will perhaps slightly increase the tonnage by 
more perfectl}" topping the beets than can be done by hand, to remove 
the necessity for thinning would not only save a like amount in labor 
but would result in greatly increasing if not doubling the tonnage. 

MULTIPLE-GERM AND SINGLE-GERM BEET BALLS. 

The prophecy was recently made by the Secretary of Agriculture 
that sugar would eventually be produced from American-grown sugar 
beets at a cost of 2 cents per pound. Such a result is only possible 
by largely eliminating the hand work in the field and ]>y removing 
one of the main causes of low tonnage, namely, the injury inflicted on 
the remaining roots bj^ the removal of the superfluous ones. 

For several 3^ears I have realized that if a beet ball could be bred to 
produce but one plant the difiiculties mentioned would be removed; 
but no one to whom it was mentioned would admit that science could 
so radically change the character of plant seed. When the attention 
of the oflicials of the Department of Agriculture was called to the 
subject, they gave it immediate considei'ation and reached the follow- 
ing conclusions: 

(1) That the Department of Agriculture has overcome far more 
serious obstacles than those which seem to be involved in the produc- 
tion of single-germ beet balls. 

(2) That the desired result would be of great value to the beet-sugar 
industry. 

(3) That a series of experiments looking to the desired end should 
be inaugurated at once. 

Investigations and experiments have already been started l)y the 
Department of Agriculture, and it is hoped that the State experiment 
stations may be led to undertake similar lines of investigation. The 
first questions involved have to do with the selection of single-germ 
seed already in existence and then the planting and growing of these 
seeds to get this characteristic fixed. After this is accomplished, of 



course it will ])e necessaiy to follow all of the intricacies of sugar 
content, size, etc. All of this will take time, and it will undoubtedly 
require several years before practical results can be attained. 

MULTIPLE-GERM BEET BALLS RESPONSIBLE FOR HAND THINNING. 

No other work has such an influence on the tonnage as that of thin- 
ning. It is the most expensive and laborious work attached to the 
culture of sugar beets, and to attain the best results it must be most 
carefully done at the right time. 

This careful labor is necessitated by the peculiar character of the 
beet seed, which, unlike an ordinary single-germ seed, is reall}^ a com- 
bination of from one to six seeds, each entirely separate and discon- 
nected from the others, but all encased in what is called a "beet ball," 
an irregular-shaped structure of brittle woody matter al)out as large 
as a French pea. 

The seeds themselves form but a mere fraction of the ball, the great 
abundance of woody matter surrounding them being provided by nature 
to aid the germs themselves in various ways. Soaked in water the 
porous beet ball will absorb 65 per cent of its weight in moisture in 
twenty -four hours, and when planted in damp ground rapidly draws 
the moisture to it. 

In planting beet seed the beet balls are thickly drilled in rows, the 
latter usually being 18 inches apart, and the seeds germinate in two to 
four weeks, depending upon the condition of the soil and weather, 
while the weed seeds which are onl}" incased in thin shells are up far in 
advance of the beets. 

When the seedlings are up and have gained sufficient size to show 
the third leaf the}' should be thinned. The thinning can not well be 
done before this time, and if put ofl' until the}" are larger the pulling 
up of the superfluous sprouts injures the roots of those which remain, 
and the result is a low tonnage. The work is done by people on their 
hands and knees, who pull up the weeds and all of the beets except 
the most thrifty one to be found about every 8 inches. Most of the 
beet balls send up several sprouts, each of which would make a beet 
if allowed to grow, and as the beets can not be grown to advantage in 
clusters, to secure the best results the separation of the tender shoots 
must be thorough and should be carefully done at the right time, so 
as not to injure or disturb the roots of the remaining plant. It was 
this laborious, careful work that led me to suggest the advisability of 
securing by selection or 1)y breeding a single-germ beet ball which 
may be drilled a single ball in a place at any desired distance, and as 
each ball would produce but one seedling or beet the superfluous seed- 
lings could be cut ofl' with a three-cornered hoe instead of being 
pulled up, thus incurring no danger of disturbing the roots of those 
left to make the crop. 



ADVANTAGES OF SINGLE-GEKM BEET BALLS. 



Some of the agTicultural advantag-es to be gained by securing a sin- 
gle-germ beet ball arc as follows: 

(1) As with reasonable care the removal of the superfluous beets 
could not damage anj'^ of the roots which are to remain in the ground, 
a saving of $1 to $2 an acre in seed could be efl'ected. 

(2) To-day the farmer's sugar-beet acreage is limited to such an area 
as he can reasonably expect to secure the necessary labor to thin within 
a given period after the plants shall show the third leaf. Inasmuch as, 
with a single-germ beet ball the little thinning necessary could be 
done with a hoe and need not interfere with the remaining roots, and 
as this work could be extended over a longer period of time, the 
farmer could greatly extend his beet plantings with the same amount 
of availa])le labor. 

(3) As none of the roots of the remaining beets would be injured by 
careless thinning or not thinning at the proper time, the tonnage per 
acre would be greatl}^ increased. 



OBJECTIONS TO SINGLE-GERM BEET BAL*LS. 



After presenting the matter to the Department of Agriculture 1 
laid it before the agricultural experts of each American beet-sugar 
factor}' inviting such criticism as might occur to them. Generally 
speaking, these gentlemen inuuediately realized the important bearing 
which such a development would have on the industry. The few 
objections presented came from territory west of the Missouri River 
and were as follows: 

(1) Owing to the fact that it takes several weeks for a beet seed to 
germinate and that in the meantime there may be showers or storms, 
as the result of which the soil may become crusted, fear was expressed 
that the single beet plants might be unable to break through this crust, 
whereas clusters of shoots from multiple-germ balls as at present 
planted do succeed in breaking through. 

(2) The second objection urged was that inasmuch as weed seeds 
start much earlier than those of the beets, so that the weeds are well 
advanced when the latter come up, oftentimes surrounding and 
smothering the beets, there would be much less likelihood of securing 
a good stand where but one seed was planted in a place than where 
the seeds are thickly drilled in. 

As a beet ball will absorb 65 per cent of its weight in moisture 
within twenty -four hours, and as it must be thoroughly dampened 
before it will germinate, I can see no good reason why a great por- 
tion of this work should not be done prior to planting, instead of 
waiting for the ball to absorb its full quota of moisture from the soil. 

If the germination can be hastened so that the seedlings are ud a 



6 

few days instead of several weeks after planting, the liabilit}- of their 
being unable to get through a soil*crusted by showers will ])e greatlj^ 
diminished, as, the period between planting and germination being 
shortened, the danger from showers will be correspondingly reduced. 

As regards weeds, the writer is aware of the fact that a sugar-beet 
field should be free from weed seed before it is planted to beets, but 
such is rarely the case; and why a farmer should be compelled to 
plant a dry, woody beet ball, well knowing that before it germinates 
the soil will be covered with weeds is hard to understand, providing a 
practical method of soaking the seed before planting can be secured. 

The German method of soaking the seed in animal urine not only 
hastens the germination but imparts additional fertilizing properties 
to the beet ball, thus producing a more thrifty plant, although some- 
times killing some of the weaker ones. 

Agricultural science will yet point out a definite method which will 
not onl}^ hasten the germination but benefit the seed without risk of 
injury. 

(3) Another objection offered was that on new Western soil cut 
worms, beet flies, and other insects are likely to appear when the 
beet is young, and that, unless a sufficient quantity of seed is drilled 
in to feed them and still leave enough beets for a stand, they maj^ 
take all of the beets. 

This objection was made to planting a seed every 8 inches. If the 
seeds were drilled in ever}^ 1, 2, 3, or 4 inches there probabl}' would be 
enough to answer all purposes, and when they had served their purpose 
the superfluous plants could be removed with a hoe. The increased 
tonnage resulting from the hoeing would far more than pay for its 
cost. 

(4) Still another objection urged was that it would l)e difficult to feed 
wet seed through a drill. 

This objection could be easily overcome by allowing the surplus or 
surface moisture on the beet ball to dry off, when the beet balls, 
owing to their increased weight, would run through a drill more easily 
than does the dry seed. 

Owing to the saving in labor and to the other advantages to be gained 
by planting single-germ beet balls, I am firmly convinced that the 
securing of such a seed will revolutionize the agricultural end of the 
beet-sugar business and enable our farmers to produce sugar beets at 
a greatly reduced cost. 

THE INFLUENCE OF EARLY THINNING. 

The influence of early thinning with the present multiple-germ 
beet ball is of the greatest importance, and late thinning is largely 
accountal)le for the present low tonnage of beets as compared with 
a maximum crop of 43^ tons per acre. 



This influence has been thoroughl}^ demonstrated in Germany b3^the 
following- and other exhaustive experiments most carefully conducted 
by the best agricultural experts. 

The report of these investigations says that four adjoining acres 
were similarly prepared, planted the same day, and, aside from the 
time of thinning, all received identical treatment. 

The first acre, thinned at the right time, yielded 15 tons. 

The second acre, thinned one week later, yielded 13^ tons. 

The third acre, thinned two weeks after the first, yielded 10 tons. 

The fourth acre, thinned three weeks after the first, yielded 7 tons. 

Estimating the value of the beets at $5 per ton, it will be seen that 
by thinning at the proper time the returns were $75 per acre. One 
week's delay meant a loss of $7.50 per acre; two weeks' delay caused 
a loss of $25 per acre; while three weeks' delay resulted in a loss of 
$40 per acre, bringing the returns down to $35 per acre. 

Any further illustrations as to what it means to the farmer to prop- 
erly thin his beets at the opportune time would seem to be superfluous. 

MACHINES FOR PLANTING BEET BALLS. 

As described to the writer, one of the machines which has recently been 
invented for planting beet balls singly is as follows: 

A continuous narrow strip of very thin tissue paper tightly rolled 
up is placed on a spindle. From this spindle the paper is reroUed on 
another spindle, the paper in the rewinding process being twisted into 
a cord or small rope. The machine is set so that as the paper leaves 
the first spindle and the twisting process begins, beet balls are auto- 
matically fed into the curved paper at such intervals as may be 
desired. 

When the spindle is filled with the twisted paper containing the beet 
balls, it is transferred to an agricultural implement which is pulled 
across the field l)y horses. As the implement progresses, it makes a 
trench into which it unrolls the paper rope, covers it with earth, and 
packs it, thus planting a single beet ball in a place. 

Perhaps the inventor did not stop to consider that, with the present 
multiple-germ beet balls the beets would still come up in bunches, 
and that consequently his process would not eliminate the necessity 
for thinning, but this would be a practical method of planting the 
single-germ balls. 

I am informed that a dropping drill has recently been perfected 
which the operator can set so as to drop a single beet ball in a place at 
any desired distance. This would be a still more simple and less 
expensive method of planting single-germ balls, but, as with the paper- 
strip method, would fail to eliminate the necessity for thinning when 
planting the present multiple -germ ball. - 



If there were single-germ beet balls to-day, doubtless within one 
year there would be a dozen machines on the market any one of which 
would plant them perfectly. 

CRACKING THE BEET BALLS AND SEPARATING THE SEEDS. 

The results to be obtained by breeding a single-germ beet ball can 
be anticipated to some extent by any grower, inasmuch as it is found 
that a slight cracking of the beet ball suffices to separate the seeds 
from the woody matter which incases them. Generally speaking, 
the larger the beet ball the more seeds it contains, though this is 
not always the case. A grinder or cracker set so as to just suffi- 
ciently crack the ordinary four-germ ball would miss a large number 
of two-germ balls, while if set for the average-sized two-germ ball it 
would injure many of the germs of a four-germ ball; hence it would 
be wise to lirst sift the balls into several lots of different sizes, reset- 
ting the grinder for each lot, when little or no injury need result from 
the crushing. 

If these cracked balls were not too closely drilled in, they probably 
could be thinned with a hoe, but in any event the injury done the 
remaining roots by an}' process of thinning would not be as great as 
where several sprouts come up from a single ball. I believe this 
method is worthy of careful investigation. 

As regards cracking the balls into several pieces, but not separating 
the seeds from the pieces of ball or husk, one of the American field 
experts writes me that he has seen "a Jr-acre field planted in this same 
way, the farmer running the seeds through a coffee mill and cracking 
them, and by planting thus, the seed was well distributed along the 
row and very few beets came up in Imnches. The crop proved a 
success, and the labor was limited." 

CULTIVATION. 

There are two other primary causes of low tonnage where natural 
conditions are favorable: (1) The lack of deep plowing, proper fertili- 
zation, and other preparation of the soil, including the elimination of 
weed seed, all of which can be easily remedied by the most obtuse 
farmer who is willing to expend a dollar if thereby he can secure $2 
in return; (2) lack of thorough cultivation, which is necessary, not 
only in order to keep down the weeds but to conserve the moisture 
and aerate the soil. 

As to the effect of weeds, certainly every farmer ought to know that 
every weed that grows takes both moisture and nutriment from the 
soil, and to that extent injures any near-b}' vegetable growth. In 
sugar-beet culture, however, where the farmer is striving for quality 
as well as quantity, the weeds work a double injury; first, by robbing 



9 

the plants of nourishment, and, secondly, by cutting down the sugar 
content through shading. 

Not only do frequent hoeings or cultivations keep the weeds down 
but stirring the soil permits the air to permeate it, and therein lies 
one of the great causes affecting the tonnage. As illustrative of what 
proper cultivation means, an experiment which was recently conducted 
in Germany may be cited. Fiv^e adjoining acres were similarly pre- 
pared and planted to beets the same day. The treatment thereafter 
given to the beets was identical, with the exception of hoeing. As the 
average price of beets in the United States is about |5 per ton, the last 
three columns in the following table have been added to show what 
each of these extra hoeings means to the farmer in dollars and cents 
for every acre so treated: 

Number of hoeings, t/tehl of beets jjer acre, gains from hoe-ing. 



Acre. 


Number 
of hoe- 
ings. 


Yield per 
acre. 


Value at S5 
per ton. 


Extra re- 
turn by ad- 
ditional 
hoeings. 


Extra re- 
turn per 
hoeing. 




1 

2 

3 
4 
5 


Tom. 
7 

n 

lOi 
15 


S35. 00 
47. .50 
.52. .50 
63.50 
75.00 








%V2. 60 
17.50 
2<S. 50 
40.00 


S12. 50 


Third 


8.75 


Foiirt h 


9.50 


Fifth 


10.00 







In Europe, where labor is cheap and horses are dear, there is not 
the same incentive to devise implements whereby the work can be done 
by horses as in the United States where labor is dear and horses are 
cheap. 

The above experiments refer to ordinary hand hoeing, but with our 
improved cultivators hand hoeing is not so necessary in this country. 
Even if it were, it is hard to conceive of an intelligent farmer neglect- 
ing his beet fields once he is aware of the immense profit to him 
through giving his sugar beets proper attention. 

EFFECTS OF SUGAR-BEET CULTURE. 

The influence of beet culture on the farmer's land should also be 
considered. 

This can be done in no better way than by reproducing that portion 
of the report of one of our consuls to German}^, which treats of the 
effect of beet culture in rotation with other crops. 

The Germans are not only exceedingly systematic, but ver}^ scien- 
tific, and the following report of exhaustive experiments most care- 
fully made should serve to disillusionize many who still believe that 
sugar beets rapidly exhaust the soil. The report is as follows: 

A German farm of 625 acres produced, before the introduction of beet culture, 
yearly 9,736 bushels of grain in ten years' average. After beet culture was intro- 

23739—03 2 



10 

duced, with 125 acres yearly to beets, the average yearly grain crop from the remain- 
ing 500 acres was 9,870 bushels, or 134 bushels increase. Another farm in the 
province of Saxony, also of 625 acres, produced l)efore beet culture was introduced, 
in ten years' average, 13,879 bushels of grain. When five years afterwards 135 acres 
were planted with beets the grain crop of the remaining 490 acres was 14,365 
bushels average, and afterwards, when yearly 220 acres of beets were planted, the 
average grain crop from the remaining 405 acres was 14,397 bushels, or 518 bushels 
more than from the whole 625 acres before beets were raised. Thirty-five other 
farms of 500 to 1,000 acres each in the province of Saxony showed the following 
results: 

Average crops per acre, iu jio^nds. 



Crop. 



Wheat . . 

Rye 

Barley . . 

Oats 

Peas 

Potatoes 



Before beet 
culture. 



1,848 
1, 456 
1,672 
1, 3.55 
985 
6,716 



After beet 


Increase 


culture. 


pounds. 


2,292 


444 


1,672 


216 


2,094 


422 


1,918 


563 


1,834 


849 


13, 500 


6,874 



Per cent 
increase. 



24 
14.8 
25.2 
41.5 
86 
102. 3 



The average beet crop of these farms was 17i tons per acre. 

The above demonstration shows that the farmer who rotates his 
beets with other crops does not decrease the productiveness of his 
land when sown to other crops but, on the contrar}-, greatly increases 
its productiveness. The truth is that a good farmer can not measure 
his profits b}" his beet crop alone, but must consider the extra profit 
which beet culture enables him to make on ever3"thing else he grows. 

As a matter of fact, the experience in Germany, where every avail- 
able acre was under cultivation long prior to the introduction of beet 
culture, would indicate that the mone}' received by the farmers for 
sugar beets is largely profit, inasmuch as since the introduction of 
beets these districts, as a whole, continue to yield a greater tonnage of 
other crops as well as of meat products. 

To substantiate this remarkable result 1 reproduce the following 
from the report of Mr. M. S. Brewer, American consul-general to 
Berlin, given under date of November 12, 18S1 (see page -179 of Beet 
Sugar Industr}" and Flax Cultivation in Foreign Countries, State 
Department, 1891): 

Concerning the beet-sugar industry, a few explanatory remarks may not be out of 
place. How much the influence is appreciated of the cultivation of sugar beets upon 
agriculture and national welfare may be seen from a passage extracted from a very 
valuable treatise by Richard von Kaumann on sugar industry: 

It is an established fact that notwithstanding the extensive cultivation of sugar 
beets, no decrease in the yield of cereals has taken place, but it has, on the contrary, 
augmented by double and treble the amount in the districts where sugar beets are 
planted, and tlnit at those very places the production of meat is steadily increasing. 
The growth of sugar beets requires that the soil be tilled to a greater depth, thus 
adding to the thrift also of other plants to be cultivated later on the same soil. 
Besides, the remnants or waste left in the manufacture of beet sugar furnish not only 



> 



11 

an excellent food for cattle, but also a fertilizing stuff, dispensing to a considerable 
extent vith the use of artificial manure. But the profit is also considerable which 
this industry affords people who work in the sugar manufactories, as they get 
employment tliroughout the whole year, during the spring ami summer seasons, in 
the growing and cultivation of the beets, and during the fall and winter in the 
manufactories 

LOWERING THE COST OF SUGAR. 

The question is, How can the farmer be benefited ana now can 
sugar be produced from beets iu America for less money than the 
present cost ? 

It has been stated that the time would come when the American 
beet-sug-ar factories would produce sugar at a profit at 2 cents per 
pound. While this is an eventual possi])ility, it should be patent to 
all that such a revolution in cost of production, if brought about, 
must come largel}' from the agricultural end of the industrj". 

To-day the factories pay $5 for a ton of beets from which the}' are 
able to extract an average of 219 pounds of sugar,'^' the sugar in the 
beets thus costing them $2.29 per 100 pounds. 

The average cost of working the beets through the factory is $3.18f 
ter ton,* or ll.lS per 100 pounds of sugar extracted. 

The cost of bags or barrels is 10 cents per 100 pounds, while freight, 
commissions, and other expenses bring the present average cost of 
producing sugar up to $1 per 100 pounds. 

AVhen the American farmer becomes educated to the fact, as recently 
demonstrated by the Colorado Experiment Station, that beet pulp as 
compared to other stock foods is worth |11.50 per ton, instead of the 
sugar manufacturer being obliged to throw his pulp away, the farmer 
will purchase it at a price based on its actual value, the factory pro- 
prietor virtuall}' receiving a rebate of 75 cents per ton on the beets 
he purchases, inasmuch as 2 tons of beets jdeld 1 ton of pulp. This 
will mean a reduction of 31 cents per 100 pounds in the cost of the 
sugar to the factory proprietors, based on the present extraction of 
219 pounds of sugar per ton of beets. 

The utilization of pulp and other by-products will probabl}' make a 
total saving in this direction of one-half cent per pound. The 1899 
average "factory expense" of $3.18| per ton of beets can perhaps be 
eventually reduced to an average of $2 per ton, which would make a 
further reduction of 51 cents per 100 pounds of sugar, resulting in a 
saving on these two items of $1.01 per 100 pounds. 

The above estimate is based on an extraction of 219 pounds of sugar 
per ton of beets. When the qualit}^ of our beets and the efficiency of 
our factories are increased, as will be the case, and thus the average 

«U. S. Department of Agriculture; Report on the Progress of the Beet-Sugar 
Industry, 1901, p. .36. 

6 Report ot Twelfth Census, pp. 543-555. 



LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 




12 



extraction is increased to 12 per cent, or 240 poun g 002 685 ■y3-y g 
of beets, the extra 21 pounds of sugar at the present cost of 4 cents 
will mean a further reduction in cost of 84 cents. 

If, from the present averao-e cost of production of $4 per 100 pounds, 
these three items are taken — 50 cents by utilization of by-products, 54 
cents saving in factory expense, and 84 cents in extra sugar — the cost 
will be brought down to $2.12 per 100 pounds. But as the price of 
sugar goes down, the 84 cents for extra extraction should also be cut 
down. Cutting this in half would leave the cost of producing sugar 
at $2.54 per 100 pounds with beets at present cost and all of the above 
economies carried out; hence, even then, sugar can not be produced 
for 2 cents per poimd. 

The success of the industry depends upon the fairness of both farmers 
and factory proprietors. The price of beets must be so adjusted as to 
afford each a fair profit, for neither can be expected to work for the 
sole benefit of the other. 

The present New York wholesale price of granulated sugar is $4.65 
per 100 pounds, and the price of the product necessarily sets a limit 
to the price which the factories can pay for beets. 

Looking to a lower cost of production the fact must be recognized 
that the possible factory economies are limited, while the possible field 
economies and improvements are great. 

Gradually reducing the difference between the present average yield 
per acre and the ideal maximum yield of 43i tons, the utilization of 
the by-products, and the elimination of hand labor in the field are the 
things which must solve the remaining problems of the industr3^ 



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